UK Equality Act 2010 compliance for Squarespace sites
The UK Equality Act 2010 applies to UK service providers; the duty to make 'reasonable adjustments' for disabled users is anticipatory, meaning it applies before anyone complains, and building on Squarespace does not exempt you. It has been in force since 2010, with WCAG conformance treated as the practical benchmark by courts and the EHRC, and the technical benchmark is WCAG 2.1 AA (and 2.2 AA going forward) as referenced in UK government guidance.
Squarespace templates are visually polished but frequently ship low-contrast text over background images, image blocks without enforced alt text, and navigation that collapses into hamburger menus with incomplete keyboard support.
What enforcement actually looks like
Discrimination claims in county court, EHRC enforcement, and reputational damage. Post-Brexit, UK-only traders still face the EAA for EU customers.
Fixing accessibility on Squarespace
Template choice matters more than anything else on Squarespace. Test contrast and keyboard navigation before committing, and re-scan after Squarespace pushes template updates you don't control.
Why one-time fixes don't hold
Squarespace sites change constantly, theme updates, plugins/apps, and content edits can reintroduce violations at any time. A site that conformed last quarter can fail today without anyone touching code deliberately. Continuous scanning with a timestamped log is both the practical safeguard and the evidence trail that matters in enforcement.
Compliance checklist
- Scan your Squarespace homepage, a key content/product page, and your checkout or lead form
- Fix critical and serious violations in your theme/templates, not with an overlay widget
- Re-scan after every Squarespace theme, plugin, or app update
- Keep the dated scan history as compliance evidence
- Publish an accessibility statement with a contact route
Frequently asked questions
- Does the UK Equality Act 2010 apply to Squarespace sites?
- Yes. The law applies based on who you serve, not what you build with. It covers UK service providers; the duty to make 'reasonable adjustments' for disabled users is anticipatory, meaning it applies before anyone complains. Squarespace gives you the building blocks, but conformance depends on your theme, plugins, and content.
- Is Squarespace accessible out of the box?
- Squarespace templates are visually polished but frequently ship low-contrast text over background images, image blocks without enforced alt text, and navigation that collapses into hamburger menus with incomplete keyboard support.
- What should I fix first on Squarespace?
- Template choice matters more than anything else on Squarespace. Test contrast and keyboard navigation before committing, and re-scan after Squarespace pushes template updates you don't control.